Fighting Cancer with Chinese Medicine
Chinese Medicine (CM) fills gaps in cancer prevention and treatment with the safe use of herbs, bodywork and supplements, as well as mind-body techniques that are beneficial for more than just symptom relief. CM treatments are well-known as complementary therapies to counter side effects that include nausea, pain, fatigue and insomnia from conventional cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation. Acupuncture can also increase patients’ tolerance of conventional care, improving survival rates. CM utilizes a different understanding of the body and disease, using unique diagnostic methods and a holistic approach which fosters profound changes in physiology, increasing the chance of success in cancer treatment. Chinese herbs and diet can also be powerful tools to reduce the risk of relapse.
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A PopTalk! Rethinking Cancer: Changing the Terrain of the Body, will take place at 6:15 p.m., August 3, at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Admission is $5 donation. Location: 65 E. Wacker Pl., Room 17-6, Chicago. For more information, call 773-477-4822 or 888-729-4811 or visit PacificCollege.edu. See ad on page 17 and in the Community Resource Guide.
Sufficient Sleep Supports Immunity
A study from the University of Washington, in Seattle, tested the relationship of immune system functioning to lack of adequate sleep. To rule out genetic factors, which experts say account for 31 to 55 percent of individual sleep patterns, researchers tested blood samples from 11 pairs of adult identical twins (genetic matches) with differing sleep habits. They found that the immune system was depressed in the twin that slept less. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans are sleeping 1.5 to two hours less than they did 100 years ago, and more than 30 percent of working people average fewer than six hours a night. Dr. Nathanial Watson, lead author and co-director of the university’s Sleep Medicine Center at Harborview Medical Center, observes, “Seven or more hours of sleep is recommended for optimal health.”
Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together. ~Thomas Dekker
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Meditating Raises Spirits More than a Vacation
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cientists from the University of California at San Francisco, and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, tested the effect of vacations and meditation on the genes of 64 women between the ages of 30 and 60 that were novice meditators. They all spent six days at the same resort in California. Half participated in a meditation program that included yoga, self-reflection exercises and mantra meditation; the other half did not engage in onsite meditation. The researchers also studied a group of 30 experienced meditators already participating in the resort’s meditation program. Blood sample tests and surveys from all 94 women were conducted at intervals: once right before their stay, once right after, a third one month post-vacation and then 10 months after the trip. All the women displayed significant changes to their molecular network pattern after the six days, with the most substantial genetic changes related to immune function and stress response. One month after the resort experience, all groups continued to display improvements. However, the novice meditators showed fewer symptoms of depression and stress for a significantly longer period than the women not participating in the meditation exercise.